Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
All Good Things Come from God
A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.
127 If the Lord doesn’t build the house,
the builders are working for nothing.
If the Lord doesn’t guard the city,
the guards are watching for nothing.
2 It is no use for you to get up early
and stay up late,
working for a living.
The Lord gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a gift from the Lord.
Babies are a reward.
4 Sons who are born to a young man
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Happy is the man
who has his bag full of arrows.
They will not be defeated
when they fight their enemies in court.
The Problems of Old Age
12 Remember your Creator while you are young.
Your old age is coming
when you will have many troubles.
When that time comes,
you won’t have much to enjoy.
2 When you become old,
the light from the sun, moon and stars will seem dark to you.
It will seem as if the rain clouds never go away.
3 At that time your arms will lose their strength.
Your strong legs will become weak and bent.
Your teeth will fall out so you cannot chew.
Your eyes will not see clearly.
4 Your ears will be deaf to the noise in the streets.
You will barely hear singing.
The sound of the millstone grinding your grain will seem very quiet.
But you’ll wake up when a bird first starts singing!
5 You will fear high places.
And you will be afraid to go for a walk because you may fall.
Your hair will become white like the flowers on an almond tree.
You will limp along like a grasshopper when you walk.
Your desires will be gone.
Then you will go to your everlasting home.
And people will go to your funeral.
6 Remember God before your life is snapped like a silver chain.
Remember God before your life is broken like a golden bowl.
It will be as useless as a broken bucket at the spring.
It will be no good, like a broken wheel at a water well.
7 Your body will become part of the dust of the earth again.
But your spirit will return to God who gave it.
8 Everything is useless!
The Teacher says that everything is useless.
13 Now, everything has been heard.
Here is my final advice:
Honor God and obey his commands.
This is the most important thing people can do.
14 God knows everything people do,
even the things done in secret.
He knows all the good and all the bad.
He will judge everything people do.
Don’t Worry
22 Jesus said to his followers, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food you need to live. Don’t worry about the clothes you need for your body. 23 Life is more important than food. And the body is more important than clothes. 24 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t save food in houses or barns. But God takes care of them. And you are worth much more than birds. 25 None of you can add any time to your life by worrying about it. 26 If you cannot do even the little things, then why worry about the big things? 27 Look at the wild flowers. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 28 God clothes the grass in the field like that. That grass is living today, but tomorrow it will be thrown into the fire. So you know how much more God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith! 29 Don’t always think about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about it. 30 All the people in the world are trying to get those things. Your Father knows that you need them. 31 The thing you should seek is God’s kingdom. Then all the other things you need will be given to you.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.